Broker Action

Lehman Bros. analyst Darren Kimball does not believe General Motors'
GM, -2.10%
or Ford Motor's
F, -1.48%
March auto sales will meet their respective forecasts. Kimball expects GM sales to decline 3 percent, while GM is projecting flat sales. For Ford Motor, Kimball is forecasting a sales decline of 5 percent vs. the company's estimate of a 3 to 4 percent decline. He believes any upside to his sales forecasts will be fleet driven.

Symantec Corp.
SYMC, -0.66%
was upgraded to "equal weight" from "underweight" at Morgan Stanley, due primarily to valuation. The stock closed Wednesday up 40 cents at $20.50, down 36 percent since the end of November 2004, and just below Analyst Peter Kuper's $21 price target. "As we move closer to the anticipated [Veritas] transaction date, we are looking at a higher probability of a successful transaction," Kuper said.

Lehman Brothers raised its rating on the The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc.
GAP, -0.72%
to "overweight," saying it expects the retailer will take steps to enhance shareholder value in the next 12 to 18 months. Lehman said steps could include "selling the Canadian business, eliminating or monetizing non-core and money-losing divisions, and buying assets in core markets." Analysts raised their price target on the stock to $18.

General Electric
GE, -1.39%
shares rose 20 cents to $35.70 in pre-market trades on Instinet after the company raised its first-quarter profit outlook to 37 to 38 cents per share, from 36 to 37 cents. The industrial, financial and media conglomerate affirmed its 2005 earnings per share outlook of $1.76 to $1.83. GE also priced its Genworth
GNW, -2.29%
secondary offering at $26.50 per share. GE is raising about $2.6 billion in the deal including a $500 million purchase of stock by Genworth.

ConAgra Foods
CAG, -1.20%
reported third-quarter earnings per share of 31 cents, after including 3 cents of expenses relating to asset sales, joint venture valuation, legal costs, impairment charges, debt retirement and legal settlements. That figure came in just below consensus estimates of 32 cents a share supplied by Thomson First/Call. The package food supplier reported third-quarter sales of $3.6 billion, up 1.3 percent from the same point a year ago. The company said it currently expects adjusted fourth-quarter earnings per share to modestly exceed the third quarter.

Northrop Grumman Corp.
NOC, -0.69%
raised its 2005 earnings outlook from continuing operations to between $3.60 and $3.75 per share, including an after-tax gain of 12 cents from its recent sale of a stake of TRW Automotive Holdings Corp
TRW, -14.12%
The defense contractor's previous estimate was for earnings of $3.45 to $3.60 per share and said its upward revision included a sales target of $31 billion to $31.5 billion. Earnings in 2006 would "grow by a solid double-digit rate on a percentage basis" with sales of about $33 billion, if the U.S. Navy's acquisition for the DD(X) surface combat ship program is included. The company raised its quarterly dividend by 3 cents, or 13 percent, to 26 cents a share. It will be paid on June 11 to shareholders of record on May 31.

Pathmark Stores
PTMK
said it will receive a $150 million investment from Yucaipa Cos. LLC, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm. The Carteret, N.J., supermarket operator will use the proceeds from the deal to upgrade its store base and open additional stores. Yucaipa also inked a five-year management agreement with Pathmark to provide consulting services.

The Bush administration is weighing a change in its proposal for private Social Security accounts that would make them more attractive to workers, though potentially more costly to the government, the Wall Street Journal said Thursday. The White House previously said the formula for calculating benefit reductions would make private accounts a better deal for workers who choose them, as long as the stocks and bonds in the accounts earn at least 3 percent a year above inflation, but is now mulling lowering the number to give account holders a bigger benefit, the Journal said, citing National Economic Council director Allan Hubbard.

U.K. insurer Prudential Plc.
PUK, -1.34%
said Mark Tucker, the finance director at lender HBOS has been tapped to replace Jonathan Bloomer, who has been the insurer's chief executive since March 2000. The change will take place on May 5. Bloomer, who had been under pressure after Prudential's 1 billion pound rights issue last year to raise cash to fund growth in the U.K., said he was "extremely disappointed with the board's decision, but I wish them all the best." Prudential is the second largest insurer in the U.K.

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